Trial of soldiers accused in Keith Clarke murder pushed back

The trial of three soldiers accused of killing businessman Keith Clarke at his upper St Andrew home has been pushed back to next year.

This is the latest delay in a case that has been before the court since 2012 when the three soldiers, Lance Corporals Greg Tinglin and Odel Buckley, as well as Private Arnold Henry, were formally charged.

Director of Public Prosecutions Paula Llewellyn, who is the lead prosecutor in the case, says the delay is due to the unavailability of Dr Dinesh Rao, the former consultant pathologist to the Ministry of National Security.

This morning, she told the court that Dr Rao is now a professor at the University of India and was unable to make himself available for the trial at this time.

Clarke was shot and killed at his Kirkland Heights home during an operation conducted by the Jamaica Defence Force to capture drug kingpin Christopher 'Dudus' Coke.

It came days after Coke escaped a joint police-military operation in his west Kingston community of Tivoli Gardens in which more than 70 persons were killed.